The Terror in the Truth
by CallMeHannah
Summary: * This story follows on from my previous two* Finding the truth is the most important thing when Jim Longworth investigates homicides, but sometimes, the truth is difficult to deal with. Please feel free to review, positive or negative, I don't mind. :)
1. Chapter 1 - Lost

**Chapter 1.**

It's the cold breeze that wakes Jeff up. Glancing at his watch, the small hand is barely past 3. He got up, made his way to the kitchen and got himself a glass of water, thirstily, he gulped it down. Back on the sofa, his mum and Jim are sound asleep, peacefully curled up to one another. He knows that things will be okay, everything happens for a reason right? It was that hope that helped Jeff get over his father's departure almost two years ago. But lately, whether it's just him being a teenager or whatnot, he feels different. He still had to go back to school and finish, then make it into college. He has a great mum and he wants to do her proud, but there is just something niggling at him, something that he cannot explain, even to himself, that makes him want to… do what?

Here he is, standing in Jim's kitchen at 2 a.m. thinking about his future. Man, everything is just going so fast that he doesn't know what to do. A kid his age should be going out to parties, meeting girls and trying to impress them with his awesome soccer skills. But no, he is suspended from school and it feels like a tonne of bricks it about to rain down on him without any warning. He's scared, and no way would he admit that to anyone but himself, but he is. The world out there is big, and lots of people are all fighting for the same thing: money. What if he screws up? What if he makes that same mistake as his dad?

"Jeff, you okay?"

Jim suddenly enters the room, scaring him so much that he almost drops the half empty glass of water on the floor.

"Errm…yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he replies quickly, trying to save himself any embarrassment.

"What you doing up so late?" The detective asks, nonchalantly, grabbing a glass from one of the overhead cupboards.

"I just woke up, that's all," Jeff mirrors Jim's calmness, trying to hide his weird inner thoughts from Jim.

"Yeah, me too," Jim quickly turns the tap on and fills the glass a quarter full.

Immediately, he gulps it down and places it in the dishwasher, then faces opposite Jeff and leans on the table.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go to bed, I'll see you in the morning," Jeff too empties the glass before putting it in the dishwasher, then makes his exit, quickly making his way to his room.

Jim too is tired, but instead of going into his bedroom, he returns to his previous spot on the sofa. Callie hasn't moved, she remains sleeping serenely on the sofa whilst Jim watches her. _She's home,_ Jim smiles to himself, he has never been so happy to see her, well, apart from when he house was on fire, but still, he is really pleased that she has returned home.

"Ever get the feeling you're being watched?"

"You're awake as well?"

"No, this is me sleeptalking," Callie sarcastically replies, opening her eyes.

"Sorry, dumb question," he sighs, sitting down next to her.

She snuggles closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Where's Jeff?" She asks.

"Bed, he got up before me."

"I'm so glad to be home," she yawns, allowing herself to sink deeper into the cushions, "for good this time too."

He wraps his arm around her protectively, "I'm never letting you go ever," he tells her, before they both sink into a deep sleep, enclosed in each other's arms.

_Where am I? This doesn't make any sense…I was, oh damn it, I can't even remember where I was before. Well this is perfect; mum is definitely going to kill me this time. I'm in a stranger's house, at night? Wait, it was daylight before…oh crap! What the hell is going on? Wait, why can't I move? I want to go, I NEED TO GO! I can't move…it's like someone's stopping me. The last thing I remember is a…white…light. No. No. NO. I'm not dead, I'm not dead…I can't be…if I was, then how come I can still see and…and hear. HEY! WAKE UP! Where am I? They're not listening! HELLO! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!_

_They can't. I'm dead…I'm dead. _

On the coffee table in the middle of the room, Jim's phone begins to ring; the caller ID identifies it as Daniel. It continues to ring, but Jim ignores it. He is too comfortable on the sofa with Callie to move.

"Jim! Your phone is ringing!" Jeff calls from his bedroom.

"I know," he responds, wishing that he could just have one day off, one day to spend with his family, and looking around, a day that he can _finally_ finish redecorating his house.

The phone goes silent, and Jim sinks back, holding the still sleeping Callie closer.

Then it starts ringing again.

"Jim, just answer it," Callie mumbles.

"Y'know, you're really good at pretending to be asleep," he smiles at her.

"It's a talent that has definitely come in handy," she replies, sitting up and passing him his phone.

"Just one day of peace, that's all I ask," he tells her and then he presses answer, "Longworth."

"Finally, Jim," Daniel replies through the phone.

"Sorry, deep sleep," he told the intern, "what's up?"

"Another homicide," he reports grimly, "and this one is worse than the others."

"Why? What it is?" Jim leans forward, concern in his voice.

Callie watches him as his face drops, and a single tears falls down his cheek.

"What is it?" Callie mouths to him.

He doesn't reply, he just sits there, staring in front of him as he continues to listen to Daniel.

A minute passes and then Jim hangs up, he remains motionless for a few seconds before standing up.

"Jim, please, you're scaring me. What is it?"

"There's been another homicide," is all he says.

She supresses the urge to be sarcastic, and just continues to stare at him.

"I have to go," he tells her, barely looking away from a seemingly interesting spot on the wall in front of him.

_This dude is a cop? I thought that his face looks familiar; I must've seen him in a newspaper or something. Okay…I'm moving now, well following him, is this why I'm here? To follow him? This makes no sense whatsoever._


	2. Chapter 2 - The Crime Scene

**Chapter 2**

After getting dressed, Jim makes his way to the crime scene where he had been summoned. He is silent, the radio is off and he keeps his eyes fixed on the road. When he became a detective, he wished that he would never in a million years that he would be investigating homicides of this nature. No cop does. Ever. His destination is only five or so minutes away, but he takes the scenic route, giving himself time to clear his mind and prepare himself. It was time to put his emotions into 'The Box', a device which he has come to use on a number of occasions, and with this type of murder, it comes in handy. _I'm not paid to make jokes at a crime scene, _he tells himself,_ and I'm here to find the son of a bitch who takes away innocent people's lives_.

_Okay, this guy is like a zombie, seriously. I'm in his car, his awesome car, I didn't know that cops got paid this much, if I knew, then I would definitely become one… well, I would have, if I wasn't… Aw crap, I'm gonna have to come to terms with this sooner or later. This is seriously messed up. _

Carlos and Daniel are waiting in a car park close to the beach when Jim arrives, they, too, look shocked; Daniel's eyes are a little red already. Many other vans and marked police cars are parked, amongst cars belonging to the public. Jim recognises Colleen's car amongst the hoard of vehicles, and so parks quite close to hers. He gets out, taking a deep breath and walks over to the intern and Medical Examiner.

"Hey," Jim greets them, solemnly.

"Hey," they echo, weirdly in sync.

It's awkward as he follows them along the sandy paths, the salty wind ruffling their hair, the scent of the ocean becoming stronger the further they move away from the car park.

"The body is over here," Carlos leads them off the beaten track and amongst the foliage of the dunes.

In the distance, there is a group of officers with Colleen. In the breeze, they can hear just clippings of her speech to them.

"…going to be difficult…we're gonna find who did this…we need to focus…Ah Jim's here."

Jim begins to feel sick in his stomach, which hasn't happened in a while. Colleen approaches them, they all stop dead in their tracks.

Turning to Jim, she asks "Daniel told you what we're dealing with?"

When he nods, she beckons him to follow her, "that isn't the half of it."

The body soon comes into view. It is worse than Jim could ever imagine. Amongst the tough reeds and mass of bodies, lies the body of a fifteen year old boy.

Jim freezes, staring at the white face of the boy. His eyes are closed as if he is sleeping, his skin pearly white, blood clotted in his short curls.

"Cause of death?" Jim asks, surprised that his voice sounds strong, despite looking at the body of a boy similar to Jeff's age.

"Blunt force trauma to the back of the head," Carlos replies, he too unable to look away from the boy's face.

"Do we have an ID?"

"Yes," Daniel cuts in, "his name is Matthew Davies."

_Oh crap, that's me. That's my body! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? I don't even remember being on the beach last night. Why the hell was I on the beach? Blunt force trauma? Someone bashed my head in? Oh, a great way to die._

"Death was instant," Carlos concludes, "I won't go into detail, it just makes it harder."

_At least I didn't feel it, but why did someone want to do this? Mum and I… we left all that behind us when we moved…_

"Has his mum been informed?" Jim crouches beside the body.

"Yes, as soon as he was identified," Colleen tells him, "if you'll excuse me, I need to go and speak to her. Jim, you're running point on this, get it over and done with asap."

"Right," Jim stands upright, taking in a deep breath, "Carlos, can you get him back to the morgue, Daniel, can you begin to retrace his steps last night? Oh, and who found the body?"

"Dog walker, he's speaking to a uniform over there," Daniel points over to an older gentleman with a chocolate Labrador sitting at his feet.

"Thanks," Jim makes his way over to the man.

"Hi, I'm detective Longworth, and you are?"

"Don Campbell," he replies, calmly.

"So you found the body?"

"Yeah, I was walking Lucy along here, as normal, then she sprinted into the grass," he explains, "I call her, but she didn't come back. When I found her, she was lying down beside the…"

His face suddenly turns white.

"It's alright, take your time," the other officer tells Don.

"What time was this?"

"About half seven, I always walk along here around seven," Don replies, looking at his watch.

"Did you see anything suspicious this morning? Anyone hanging around?"

"No, just a few other early morning dog walkers, but that's about it really."

"Thank you Don, if there is anything else that you can think of, please call us right away," Jim politely smiles at him.

"Of course," Don smiles back, but it quickly fades, "who would want to kill a boy so young?"

"Don't worry, Mr Campbell, we're going to catch whoever did this."

"I hope you do."

Before leaving, Jim gives the dog a pat on the head, and in return, she gives him a sloppy kiss on the hand.

_That's my body lying there, man, this is hard to get my head around. I was on the beach, smacked in the back of the head, and apart from the word of that bloke, the cops have nothing to go on. This is promising. They said that they have told my mum, she's going to be in bits, how is she going to cope…wait that sound bad, but she loves me and I love her. I wish that I could tell her one last time._


	3. Chapter 3 - The Lead

**Chapter 3**

As soon as Jim enters the precinct, he is met by Daniel. Jim is a lot later returning back to base than the other, he had taken an even more scenic route than before just so he could clear his head. Solving murders is hard enough, but when it's the murder of a kid, it's more difficult, even more now that he has Jeff to look after.

"I've started to trace Matthew whereabouts last night," he informs the detective, "his mum is in with Manus now, she's given us a few names of who her son was hanging around with."

"Great," Jim replies, "was he in contact with anyone into the usual, drugs, alcohol, etc.?" Jim asks.

"Nothing yet, we're running all the names through the criminal database, we're just waiting now for anyone to pop."

"Thanks for the update, Daniel," Jim tells him and then makes his way down the corridor to the morgue.

The body is already on the cold steel table, Jim commonly refers to this as the 'slab', but in an investigation as sensitive as this, it just isn't appropriate. Carlos is busily extracting what looks like trace evidence from Matthew's jacket.

"Hey," Jim nods to the ME quietly, so he doesn't disturb him.

"Hey," Carlos parrots, not looking up.

"Have you got a time of death window yet?" Jim asks.

"Yeah, I've got an exact time for you, 10:57pm," Carlos reveals, putting a hair into an evidence bag.

"His watch break?"

"Uh huh," he replies, holding the bag up to the light, "hey look at this."

Jim joins him and looks up at the bag.

"It's blonde," he deduces.

"Yep, neither Matthew nor his mother is blonde. And judging by the length, it's a female's."

"Girlfriend maybe?"

"You're guess is as good as mine at this point," Carlos replies grimly.

"Just shout if you fine anything else," Jim tells him.

"Sure," the ME responds.

Just as Jim turns, he feels the stiches in his arm pull tight and pain rip through his arm. He'd forgotten about the knife wound from the night before, that psychotic woman…

"Any chance you have any pain killers?" He asks.

"One second," Carlos roots in a nearby drawer, finding a small tub of aspirin.

He throws it to the detective.

"Thanks Carlos."

"Just don't take too many," Carlos warns him.

He nods a reply before leaving the morgue and going to the break room. He was in definite need of caffeine.

_Girlfriend? I didn't have one, well, not a proper one. I'll admit, I did like someone, but they were already going out with Tom. Oh crap, what if it was him? Jenny and I, we went to the cinema last night…Iron Man 3, awesome film…anyway, what if he found out… I knew it was a bad idea. Hey Jim…Jim…JIM! Crap! I forget that he can't hear me. How can I tell him? I'm a ghost right? In those films, ghosts can communicate…but I doubt he has an Ouija board tucked away in his office. _

"Hey Jim," Daniel rushes into the break room frantically waving a piece of paper, "he went to the movies last night, his mum just told Colleen. And get this, he was meeting someone."

Jim is handed the paper and looks down at the information, "late night showing…" Jim reads aloud, "Iron Man 3, good taste. If he did watch it, the person who he was with would be the last person to see him alive."

Before the detective could ask, Daniel sprints off shouting "I'm on it!"

Just as he finishes pouring himself a cup of strong coffee, Colleen appears at the door.

"Matthew's mum wants to speak to you," she tells him.

He doesn't want to, he really doesn't want to, but it is part of his job, so he nods, acknowledging his responsibility to bring peace to Mrs Davies's life.

"Mrs Davies, this is detective Longworth, he's the lead detective in the investigation," Manus introduces him to the grieving mother.

She stands and extends a shaking hand, "detective Longworth," she greets him.

"Mrs Davies," he shakes her hand, "I'm so sorry for your loss."

She nods and then the tears start flowing.

"Would you like a drink?" He offers.

"No, thank you detective," she responds, dabbing her cheeks with a tissue.

"You said your son went to the movies last night, what time did he leave?" Jim sat opposite her.

"Around nine-ish, he said that he was meeting someone," Mrs Davies replies, "I don't know who, but I think his friends might know."

"Was there anyone in particular that he spent most of his time with?"

"A few, they came over to my house last week I think, but they were nice lads," she explains.

"We're going to lead their names," Jim prompts her.

"I don't want to get any of them in trouble," she tells the detective, "after we left England, Matt found it difficult to make friends. Then he got friendly, with one lad in particular and then he got introduced with his friends and so on."

"Please, Mrs Davies, can we have at least his name? We just need to talk to them that's all."

"Jeff something…hang on, Jeff Cargill."

Jim tries not to show any reaction, he has no idea that Jeff was friends with this kid.

"Thank you, Mrs Davies. I have just one question, do you know if there is anyone who would want to kill your son?"

"The reason we left England was because of Matt's violent father, I don't know where he is now, and I don't know if he's involved, but he didn't hesitate to hurt me, so God only knows what he could have done to… Matt," she begins to sob once again.

Jim offers her a new tissue from a nearby box. He has no idea how he is going to break the news to Jeff.


	4. Chapter 4 - Personal Ties

**Chapter 4**

"Jim? What's going on?" Callie asks, entering Jim's office.

He had called her as soon as he had left the interview with the victim's mother; he knew that she would be able to help him in this dilemma. He has no idea how Jeff is going to react.

As soon as the door closes, he blurts it out: "Jeff knows the victim."

"What? Okay, start from the beginning; I'm going to need some context."

"A boy was found on the beach this morning, he was fifteen years old. I had a chat with his mother, she said that the victim was friends with Jeff."

Callie sat in the chair opposite and reaches out to hold his hand.

"Jim, you're scared about telling him aren't you?"

He nods silently.

"I think it should come from you," she tells him honestly.

"How?" The question comes out of his mouth before he realises.

"Jeff is no different from any of the other relatives that you have told," Callie reasons.

"He is though," Jim counters, dreading when he has to tell his step-son.

"Jeff's been through this before; remember the death of his soccer coach?" Callie reminds him, "it's better coming from you than anyone else, think about how hurt he's going to be if he finds out second hand. I know I would be hurt."

She stands and pulls a packet of pain killers out of her pocket and throws them to him, "you forgot these," she adds.

"Thanks," he smiles for a second.

"Just don't leave it too late," Callie tells him, "I'll see you later, I love you."

"Love you too," he tells her wholeheartedly.

From the interview with Matthew's mum, Jim has now got a person of interest: the violent father. The pieces could fit, mum and son move continents to get away, he would certainly be pissed off if that ever happened to him. He has to file an APB to find him and he just begins to fill in the form on his computer when there is a knock at the door.

"Come in," he beckons, not looking up from the screen.

"Hey, Jim," Jeff replies.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I came with mum, she said that you wanted to speak to me about something," there was something in his voice which worries Jim, it's like he somehow already knows.

"Erm…yeah, Jeff, can you sit down."

The teenager sits opposite him, anxiously staring at Jim.

Slowly and delicately, Jim tells him about Matthew's death – leaving out all of the gory details - and then he asks him, "Do you know anything about last night?"

Jeff remains subdued on the chair; staring down at the floor and then he shakes his head slightly before bursting into tears. Automatically, Jim moves over to him to comfort him, sitting on the chair's armrest, holding Jeff tightly in his arms.

"It's okay, it's okay," the detective repeats, "we're going to do everything to find who did this."

"Everyone…loved…Matty…" Jeff sobs.

"I know, but I need to know, did anyone not like him?"

_Please Jeff, tell him about Tom, please. Remember that night I told you about liking Jenny, c'mon you must remember that!_

"Tom," Jeff whispered.

_BINGO!_

"Who's Tom?"

"Tom Kirby, Matty told me about liking his girlfriend, Jenny."

"Thank you Jeff, I'm sorry about your friend, really I am."

Jeff remains silent and hugs Jim back. The pair sit in the chair, holding onto one another in silence. For a moment, Jim looks up and sees Callie through the glass panels of his office. She nods at him, and he nods back.

"Jeff, I've got to get to work, you go with your mum okay," then he hesitantly adds, "if you think of anything else, just let me know okay."

Jeff hugs him tighter before letting go, "okay," he tells him.

The detective lets go as Jeff gets up.

"Did he suffer?" Jeff asks, looking Jim in the eye.

"No," Jim replies, "not at all."

A few minutes after his family has left, Daniel knocks on Jim's door.

"Yep," he answers.

"Got a hit on that APB you put out on Matthew's dad, Robert Davies. He was seen at Jacksonville airport an hour ago trying to board a flight," Daniel informs him, "uniforms have managed to get him off the plane and are bringing him now."

_Dad was in the US? Why? I don't remember seeing him at all, damn it, I hate forgetting stuff; especially something as important as my murderer. Crap, crap, crap! Why is this so bloody difficult? _

There is another knock at the door, and this time it's Carlos.

"Jim, can I see you for a minute?"

Compliantly, Jim leaves the comfort of his office and follows the ME to the morgue. The body is now fully covered by a lime green sheet, but the shorter stature still doesn't mask the victim's youthfulness.

"What is it?"

"I've taken an imprint of the weapon used to kill him," Carlos explains, "there were also trace elements that I've sent off to the lab."

"Anything pointing to a definite murder weapon," Jim enquires.

"Nothing definitive yet, but once we get the results back, you'll be the first to know."

"Why would someone want to kill him? He has no ties to gangs or the usual stuff kids get up to, he was a model child, it just doesn't make any sense."

"Sometimes, there is no reason for a person to kill another," Carlos comments, matter-of-factly.

"The three common motives are money, power and…love," Jim suddenly has a light bulb moment, "I need to make a call."

He pulls his phone from his pocket and phones Jeff's school. The phone is answered by the school secretary that Jim had met a few days ago, when he had been called in to the school because of Jeff.

"Good Morning, this is Palm Glade High School, who's speaking please?"

"Hello, this is detective Longworth, FDLE, I'm calling to ask about one of your students, a Tom Kirby?"

"One moment please," the secretary replies.

The line goes silent for a moment before the voice returns, "Detective Longworth, would you be able to make it down to the school?"


	5. Chapter 5 - It's Never Easy

**Chapter 5**

Re-entering the school reminds Jim of his days as a schoolboy, ignoring the teachers and being more interested in the hottest girl rather than the work in front of him. He wonders how on earth he would survive in today's educational facilities: not very well as jocks and nerds swarm him in the hallway.

_Yeah, it's harder than it looks, isn't it!_

The principal's office is further up the hall, and it takes Jim a while to meander through the social groups that gather, like vultures to carrion, beside the lockers. He sees the secretary, Mrs Luck, jumping up and down, trying to grab his attention beside the entrance to her office. He nods in her general direction and pushes his way through.

"Detective Longworth, it's nice to see you again," she warmly greets him, "why the sudden urge to re-visit our delightful school?"

"May we talk in private, it's bad news I'm afraid," Jim replies with his serious tone.

"Of course, please, follow me."

_I remember her, she's the one who showed me around school_. _I never said thank you either, damn, one thing that I can't do._

"So, what is it?" Mrs Luck asks, as she shuts the door to her office; instantly shutting out the noise from the corridor.

"One of your students, Matthew Davies, was found dead this morning," Jim breaks the news gently.

"Oh dear," Mrs Luck gasps, instantly her face begins to turn red.

"We've been informed that he doesn't get on with Tom Kirby, is he in school today?"

"Yes, hang on," quite flustered, the secretary scampers to her computer and begins to type, "he's in world geography at the moment, would you like me to call him in?"

"Please," Jim responds.

Within two minutes, Tom walks down the hallway; Jim recognises him from a couple of years ago. He vividly remembered that night, the night when he met Callie's ex-mother-in-law, the thought of her made him shudder.

"Yeah?" Tom asks, nonchalantly, "What is it, Mrs Luck?"

"This is detective Longworth, he wants a word with you about Matthew Davies," she replies and then sits back down on the chair. Jim knows that someone has to be there since this kid, although he doesn't look it, is sixteen.

"So, what's up?" Tom says as he leans against the wall.

"Well, what's up is he's dead," Jim matches the boy's tone.

"What!? No wonder he wasn't in class today."

"So, word is that you two didn't see eye to eye."

"Wait, he had eyes for my girl so of course I didn't like him, but I wouldn't kill him," Tom quickly defends himself.

"So you didn't know that he and Jenny went to the movies last night?"

"Yeah, and we broke up this morning, but I would never kill him. I'm not that kind of guy."

"Ok, so where were you last night?" Jim asks.

"I was at home, playing on World of Warcraft online all night, you can check, my username is Killer-T99," Tom rapidly explains, "I had nothing to do with it, I swear!"

"We will check, you can go but don't leave town," Jim tells him.

"Sure, sure, I won't," Tom replies quickly and then he leaves.

"Mrs Luck, is Tom's…well ex-girlfriend Jenny in today?"

"Jenny Dawson? No, not to my knowledge anyway."

Back at the precinct, Robert Davies has been brought from the airport by uniformed officers. Jim makes it back just in time to take the interview. Robert is quite a tall man in his late thirties, there is quite a resemblance between himself and his son, they have the same eyes and chin.

"So, Mr Davies, you were on your way back to Blighty when we pulled you in, why's that?"

"You tell me, I've done nothing wrong," Robert calmly responds.

"So, you came to Florida to?"

"I needed a holiday, I was very busy in England," he explains, "one often needs a break, don't you agree, detective?"

"So you had no idea this is where your wife and son were?"

"No, I've always liked Florida, the oranges here are exquisite," he smiles to himself.

"This is no laughing matter, Mr Davies, not when your son is dead."

The smile fades, "wait, you're telling me my son is dead?"

Jim suddenly has to rethink his strategy, and so he sits on the chair opposite.

"Mr Davies, where were you last night?"

"I'll tell you where I wasn't. In wasn't protecting my son!" He stands up in anger, "I need to know what happened to my boy!"

"Mr Davies, please sit down," the detective tells him, "where were you last night?" He repeats.

"You think I killed him?"

Jim remains silent.

"I was at a bar on the beach, drinking scotch until after midnight. Why would I kill my own son?"

"You have a history of violence and were at an airport, it doesn't look good."

"Okay, I'll admit that I knew they were here," Robert sits back down, utterly deflated, "I wanted to come and apologise, but I never saw them. And…I regret every single time I was violent to my wife, but I would never hurt Matt, I would never hurt my son."

Jim stands and leans forward a little over the desk, "I just need to check your alibi, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Outside, Daniel is waiting for the detective, shifting from side to side with impatience. As soon as Jim leaves the interrogation room, he pounces, scaring Jim.

"Daniel, I swear, if you carry on doing that, you're going to end up with a bullet in your arse, and believe me, it stings."

"Sorry, but it's not the father," Daniel replies, "I've confirmed his alibi."

"That was quick," Jim comments.

"One of my buddies works there; he says that he was there until 2am."

"Right we can cut him loose," Jim thinks aloud, "we need to find Jenny Dawson, she's the one person who may be able to shed so light on where Matthew went after the film last night."


	6. Chapter 6 - Loose Ends

**Chapter 6**

"Okay, thanks for getting back to me quickly…thanks…bye," Carlos finishes the phone call.

He opens his door and leans out a little, "LONGWORTH!" he shouts.

"Coming!" He responds, jogging to the ME's office, "Y'know, when I said 'shout', it was metaphorical."

"That's a big word, even for you," Carlos counters.

"Hey, I did pay attention in English class," he pauses to think, "well, a bit anyway. So what is it?"

"The lab has just called me back, primary tests show that the weapon used to kill our victim was made from ebony," he informs him.

"Well, that narrows it down," Jim responds.

"Yeah, there were also small fragments of it in the wound, so whatever hit him is damaged. So, how are you with suspects?"

"Well, we've just gone down from three to two, so it's not too bad," Jim responds.

"Two?"

"The dad's alibi check out, so the only two left are this Tom fellow, he has a good motive and Jenny, she wasn't in school when I went so, and to me, that just screams guilty."

"Maybe she found out that Matthew has died and she's scared," Carlos suggests.

"Or, she killed him and has skipped town," Jim counters.

"So, what's her motive?"

Jim opens his mouth to retaliate, but holds back, instead he says "that's something yet to be discovered."

"How very poetic, but right now, I need to get back to work," Carlos smiles sarcastically at him.

"Fine, I was busy before anyway," he replies, "you'll call me if anything else surfaces?"

"Yep," the ME chips back.

"Hey detective," Daniel surprises him as he leaves the office, "I've got Jenny's address for you." He hands Jim a small, square piece of paper, with his messy handwriting scrawled on it.

"Thanks Daniel," Jim tells him, "I appreciate it."

_Jenny might have killed me? Well, that sucks, I finally went on a date with her and then after, she beat me over the head with something made of ebony. But she had nothing made of ebony on her, I doubt anything at the cinema has ebony either…_

Jenny's house is only a ten minute drive for the detective. It's sat in a pretty neighbourhood, it's very quiet and children that Jim saw earlier are walking in groups, talking and joking with one another. _That's what Matthew should be doing, _Jim thinks, making himself only angrier at the death of such a young child, one who's younger than Jeff.

He pulls up outside the house, an older woman, who he suspects is her mother, is mowing the front lawn, taking advantage of the late afternoon sunshine.

"Mrs Dawson?" He calls to her over the din of the machine.

"Yes," she replies, turning off the lawn mower.

"Detective Longworth, FDLE, is your daughter here?" He asks, showing her his badge.

"Yes, she is in the house," she responds, "Is this about that Matthew boy, because she doesn't know anything about it?"

"I just want to speak to her," he reasons with her.

"Okay, just let me go and get her," she responds, and then she walks up to her front door, which is already open, and shouts "Jenny! Can you come down here please?"

There is a reply from the second floor, but Jim can't quite make it out.

"Don't argue with me! Get here or you're grounded for a month!" Mrs Dawson sharply replies.

There are a few heavy footfalls and then Jenny appears in the doorway.

"You're a cop?" She asks.

"Yeah, can we talk inside?" Jim notices that a few neighbours are lifting up their curtains and are peering in on them. The last thing he wants is this girl to spook and not trust him.

The sitting room is very quaint, there are several family photos hanging in beautiful frames on the walls, all taken by professional photographers, many of them were taken when Jenny was younger.

"So, Jenny, you want to tell me what happened last night?" Jim prompts her.

"No, not really," she grumpily replies.

"You're the last one to see him alive, all we want to know is what happened."

She contemplates his words for a few moments before sighing.

"Fine, we went to see Iron Man 3, we had a great time. Then when it finished, I caught a cab and he said that he was going to walk home, that's it really, I never saw him after that."

"Was there anyone hanging round outside the cinema, someone who looked suspicious?"

"No, nothing…" she trails off.

"Are you sure?"

"Course, why what do you think happened?" She responds quickly.

"I just need to know what happened Jenny," he tells her softly, "Matthew's dead, and if you tell me everything, I can catch his killer and put him away for a long time."

"No, nothing else happened," she responds, with a weird edge in her voice.

"What time did you get home?"

"10 o'clock, I was in all night."

"Okay, well, if you think of anything else, don't be afraid to call me."

"Jim, I'm so glad your home," Callie smiles as he walks in through the front door, "dinner's ready."

"Where's Jeff?" He asks, pulling her into his arms.

"In his bedroom, I think," she replies, hugging him back, "how's the case going?"

"It's difficult," he tells her truthfully, "I just need to see how Jeff is doing."

"Okay," she smiles before pulling away.

He gives her a quick kiss before making his way to the rear of the house, where Jeff's bedroom is. He gently knocks on the door.

"Jeff?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," he replies, shortly, before slamming something shut.

As soon as he walks in, he sees the red rings around Jeff's eyes and his hand resting on one of his desk drawers.

"You okay?"

Jeff shakes his head and the tears stat falling again.

"Hey," Jim tries to comfort him.

"You found his killer yet?" Jeff asks through his sobs.

"No, but we're gonna find him, okay, I promise."

"Have you spoken to Tom and Jenny?"

"Yeah, but Tom is still a suspect."

Jeff opens his drawer and pulls out a photo; in it is Tom, Jenny, Matthew and Jeff, all happy and smiling together.

"C'mon, dinner's ready," Jim tries to coax him.

"I'm not hungry," he replies, but his grumbling stomach gives him away.

"Liar," Jim jokes, "C'mon, from what I smelt earlier, it's lasagne!"


	7. Chapter 7 - Liar Liar

**Chapter 7**

As soon as Jim enters the precinct the next morning, he is immediately confronted by Colleen.

"So, how's it going so far?" She quizzes him.

"Just one suspect, in fact, Daniel should have got back to me on that," Jim starts to look around for the missing intern.

"Well, I've got something for you," she leads him to her office, "I managed to get you CCTV footage from a camera outside the cinema two nights ago."

"Thanks," he tells her.

"Tech is going through it now, so we may have an idea to where he was heading. So, this one suspect?"

"Yeah, a friend of the victim, Tom Kirby; he had motive, if his alibi doesn't check out, he has opportunity," Jim explains.

Then there is a knock at the door, Daniel is standing on the other side of the thin glass wall, not looking particularly overjoyed. Colleen waves him in.

"What is it?" She enquires.

"Tom's alibi hasn't checked out," he tells them, "he wasn't on the website last night."

"Great, I'll bring him in now," Jim pipes up.

"I asked the techs to report to Carlos if anything on the tapes show up, I'm too busy dealing with all the media attention on this."

"Media attention?"

"Yeah, since this case is so sensitive, the media want updating on everything we find," she replies, exhaustedly.

"What have you told them so far?"

"Same thing with every case we investigate, they'll find out when we catch the killer and they should respect the wishes of the family," she tells him.

_Mum, I wonder how she is coping. She shouldn't have to deal with this…we came her to make a fresh start away from dad. Now I'm dead. This just isn't fair, and it equally pissing me off that I don't know why I died. If there was an answer, something to put mum's mind at rest then it wouldn't be so painful. My only hope is that I didn't die for nothing, but I guess, that's everyone's wish._

"LONGWORTH!"

Once again, Carlos's voice beckons the detective into his morgue. He arrives within seconds, a little annoyed, but the prospect of a fresh lead soon overcomes the annoyance.

"Oh, by the way before I forget," Jim turns to the ME, "Manus told me to tell you to stop doing that."

"Dually noted," Carlos replies, "so I have some news for you."

"What is it?" Jim answers.

"The CCTV, it shows the victim getting into a car," he reveals.

"Did you get the plates?"

"No, it was too far away, but tech are retrieving footage from other nearby cameras, so we may get an ID on the car."

"Great, look, I need to dash, suspect to question, possibly arrest, so," he excitedly replies.

"Fine, I'll call you if anything more pops up," Carlos tells him.

The detective finds himself once again sitting in Mrs Luck's office, awaiting the arrival of Tom Kirby. The pieces are starting to come together; he has motive and opportunity, so why did he give a lame alibi?

"Detective?" Tom seems surprised as he strides into the office, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, here's the thing Tom… your alibi doesn't check out, which tells me that you killed Matthew," Jim confidently counters.

"Wait, man, you've got it all wrong, I didn't kill him. But I can't tell you where I was," the boy responds.

"Why?" Jim presses.

"Have you ever had a secret that wasn't yours to tell?"

Jim remembers seeing Jeff smoking with his friends and his dilemma about whether or not to tell Callie – which hadn't gone down as planned.

"Sometimes, the kindest thing to do is to tell the truth," Jim replies wisely.

"Okay," Tom sits opposite him and takes in a deep breath, "Jenny and I didn't break up because of Matt, she was hiding something but she wouldn't tell me. A few weeks ago, something happened; she changed all of a sudden; she was being really wary and was being really distant. I confronted her about it and she got all upset, she told me that she had been inappropriately touched by someone," he pauses, "she didn't say who but there was this guy that had been following her the past few months, I was at his house when Matt was killed and so was he because we had a big showdown."

He looks exhausted, as if a huge weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

"Do you know anything else about what happened?" Jim prompts him.

The boy shakes his head, "no, nothing else."

Experience tells the detective that what Tom says is true, although his previous theory has just been proven wrong, the pieces are beginning to fit.

All of a sudden, Principle Jennings limps in balancing most of his weight on his walking stick, his face angry with rage, his eyes behind wire framed glasses bulge like they are going to pop.

"What is going on here?" He fumes.

"We've just finished Sir," Tom quickly replies.

"You cannot speak to him without a parent or guardian present, detective!" He spits at Jim, "Unless you have more questions, I suggest you leave now."

Jim doesn't reply, but stands and gives the principle an odd look. Not wanting any trouble, he leaves quietly; besides, he now has to speak to Jenny.

_I'm remembering! HAHA! This is great! I'm remembering what happened that night…we were watching the film, and it was awesome, really I know I'm a geek an all but those effects…sorry I'm rambling, but she told me about what happened. She trusted me…it was him, he must have killed me because that night I remember confronting him. But who is he?_

Jenny's mum is sunbathing out front when Jim arrives, but before he even speaks she points towards the house.

"She's in her room," she tells him.

"Thanks," he replies.

As soon as he reaches the door, Jenny appears at the top of the stairs.

"You know, don't you?" She asks.

"Yes, Tom told me. We really need to talk," he tells the girl softly.

She nods.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Heaviest Burden

**Chapter 8**

"You should have told me about all of this before, Jenny, it could have been sorted a lot earlier," Jim tells her honestly, sitting on her desk chair.

"I couldn't, at first I didn't even want to believe it myself," she replies, perching on the edge of her bed.

"We can put this guy away for good if you give me his name."

"You'll never believe me, even if I told you," she sighs.

"Just tell me."

She ponders for a moment and then shakes her head, "I'm sorry Detective Longworth, I can't," fresh tears start to fall down her face.

"Whoever did this to you may have killed Matthew, he knew too didn't he?"

"Yeah, I told him the day before he died, he said that he would sort it out," she responds, "I told him not to I swear!" She quickly adds.

"I believe you, but why you are protecting this person?"

"I don't know!" She yells, standing and waving her arms in frustration, "I'm scared, okay!"

"You'll be safe; he won't be able to get to you."

"Oh yeah? And what will people think of me after it all comes out?" She sits back down on her bed, and places her head in her hands.

"Who did this to you?" Jim is getting impatient, but he tries not to show it.

"Principle Jennings," she whispers.

After a moment of silence to take it in Jim tells her: "This is a serious allegation against your principle, you know, do you have any proof to back this up?"

"See, I knew you wouldn't believe me!"

"Claiming that you have been inappropriately touched…"

"Oh is that how Tom put it?!" She spits, "he tried to…" she begins to sob, "I had to kick him in the shin to get him off me."

"Okay, okay," he tries to calm her down.

"But no, I don't have any proof about what happened," she cries.

"And because you don't have any, you thought that nobody would believe you. You're very brave to tell me about this," he smiles warmly at her.

She smiles back, "You'll arrest him? Even with no evidence, just what I told you?"

"I promise that he will get what he deserves, in fact, you say that you kicked him in the shin?"

"Yeah, pretty hard too, why?"

Jim knows that he has probable cause for a search warrant.

"He walked in when I was talking to Tom, with a walking stick," he tells her, "we can hold him on that, but I need you to come with me to the precinct."

"Why?" She quickly responds.

"I need you to write a statement, just what you told me," he replies slowly to calm her down, "I'm also going to call in a psychologist."

"I don't want to see a shrink! I'm not crazy!"

"Nobody said you were," he mentally smacks himself in the face, "what you've been through is very traumatic, you're gonna need some help to deal with what happened, okay?"

"Thank you."

"No problem Jenny, c'mon, come with me and we can get all of this sorted out."

_It was him all along? He did it, I remember confronting him, and I told him that he was sick, that I would tell the police about what he did, even if I had to force Jenny into it. We've not known each other very long, but I would have done anything to help her, if only she had told me sooner._

Carlos and Daniel watch from the observation room as Jim helps Jenny write her statement, also in there is the psychologist that the detective called as soon as they had arrive. Jenny's mum had come with them and is now in the waiting room. Neither of them can believe the recent turn of events; Carlos thinks about his daughters and Daniel his little sister, what would they do if their family got into something like this? They could only imagine, but Mrs Dawson next door is living. Unable to take the silence any more, Carlos goes to comfort her, leaving the intern on his own.

As soon as Jenny has finished writing her statement, Jim leaves her to talk to the psychologist, and finds Colleen waiting outside with her mum. Mrs Dawson joins her daughter in the interrogation room. He hands it to her and she reads it.

"The poor girl," she shakes her head.

"Can you get me an arrest warrant for him?"

"It's going to be hard, do you have any concrete proof?"

"Last time I saw him, he had a severe limp, it says in Jenny's statement that she kicked him in his shin," he replies.

"Still not enough Jim, I need something better," Colleen tells him, not wanting to hinder his investigation.

"I don't have anything better," Jim sighs.

"I do," Carlos surprises the pair.

"What do you have?"

"I've been running further tests on the murder weapon," he informs them, "the lab has managed to narrow it down quite a lot. The ebony is used in making walking sticks; my guess is that Matthew was repeatedly hit on the back of the head with one of them."

They both turn to Manus; she nods and quickly retreats to her office to write up the warrant.

"Thank you Carlos," Jim tells the ME.

"No problem, Jim, I just hope it's enough to put this asshole away for good."

School children of all different years burst from the front doors of the school, relieved that tomorrow is Saturday. They talk and chatter about future parties and sports games. The Jocks joke and shove each other eager to be in the fresh air, the geeks rushing home to play on their computers, the groupies excited for the next concert. Teachers follow suite, thankful to be away from the school, yet many carry book laden bags filled with essays to be marked.

The lights click off one by one, leaving the once bustling corridors dark and almost lifeless. He walks along each corridor, remembering how he was once a student here; he runs his hand along the cold locker doors. He'd lost count of how many times the 'popular' kids had shoved him into the lockers, knocked him aside like he was nothing. Now he is a principle, but not for much longer, he knows the cops will soon figure it out. He remembers his first encounter with Jeff Cargill's step-father, the detective. He won't stop, he's probably on his way already. How will he handle it? Will he be compliant? Will he deny everything?

"No," he tells himself, "I'm not proud of what I've done."

"I'm glad to hear that," Jim appears from one of the adjoining corridors.


	9. Chapter 9 - It's Over

**Chapter 9**

Sitting in the interrogation room, Terry Jennings remains calm, his eyes distant behind his glasses. Jim sits opposite, quietly studying him, thinking about how to get the principle, whom has a reputation for being strict and stubborn, to talk.

"Shall we begin detective?" Jennings asks, tiredly.

"Where were you the night before last?"

"Let's just cut the crap," Terry heavily sighs, "yes, I killed Matthew Davies."

"What about Jenny Dawson? Are you going to come clean about that too?"

"Look, I can explain," Jennings leans forward, almost pleading to Jim.

"I'm listening," Jim replies casually.

"A few weeks ago, my wife left me for some rich banker. I turned to alcohol for comfort; I know I shouldn't have, but I did. Anyway, one night I got pretty legless at this place on the beach, and well, I wasn't thinking straight nor could I see straight. On the way home, I ran into Jenny, we got talking and she knew how drunk I was… she tried to get away, but I was drunk and so…so stupid."

"You tried to rape her?" Jim asks him.

He nods and begins to weep.

"I was stupid, I would never have done it I swear," he sobs, "if I could go back and stop myself, I would. She kicked me and I let go."

"And Matthew found out?"

"I was driving past the theatre, just checking what was on, and I saw him. He marched up to my car and confronted me, but I drove away, hoping that that would be the last of it. After that, I had a drink and went for a walk on the beach, it was deserted that at that time of night. He'd followed me and confronted me again, telling me what I'd done was evil and that I would pay for what he had done. Then, he took a swing at me, the stick…I didn't mean to hit him so hard with it. I just meant to scare him off."

"The blow was accidental?"

"Yeah, I know, you probably hear that a lot in here," Terry almost smiles, "I'm not proud of what I did, and I never meant to hurt him or Jenny. I was so ashamed that I would have come forward to claim responsibility for Matthew's death."

_I was so angry after Jenny told me, I just wanted to kill that man. He'd abused her, just like my dad did to my mum. I'm glad that I tried to punch him, he's gonna get everything that's coming to him! In a way, I guess, I didn't die in vain; Jenny's now getting help for what happened. In a way, my death helped her._

Jim looks at the man, seeing the remorse in his eyes and his hands shaking.

"What happens now?"

"I need to take you down to booking," Jim replies, "stand up, hands behind your back."

Obediently, he stands and puts his hands behind him. Quickly, he is handcuffed and Jim leads him down to booking. One of the six cells has already been prepared, now all Jim has to do is fill out paperwork.

"How long?" Jennings asks from behind the wire wall.

"Huh?"

"How long will I be inside?"

"That's not for me to decide," Jim tells him honestly.

"From previous experience then, I just need to know."

"Life," Jim says, "you'll probably be in for life."

Terry reverses and sits on the creaky camping bed in the corner of the cell, "Oh."

The detective didn't want to say it, but at least it would give him some piece of mind.

"Nine years I was head of the school, nine years," Jennings reminisces, "I was all set to retire in a few more years, enjoy walks on the beach with my wife, golf maybe. Now look at me," he begins to pick at his fingernails, "and one mistake got me hear. If I hadn't have gone out that night, I wouldn't have seen Jenny, and everything would be okay. A boy is dead because of me."

Unable to take much more, Jim quickly signs the last form and leaves the inmate alone in the holding cells. Just one night for him in there, then he would be going off into one of the countless jails Florida has to offer. Besides, he cannot linger on that now, he has a memorial to get to.

_There's a light now, it's drawing me towards it. Ha, it sounds like that 'Rocky Horror' song… I guess it's finally time to leave. I'll see mum one day and everyone else who I have loved and lost. I can leave…_


	10. Chapter 10 - The End

**Chapter 10**

The sun sets over the vast ocean beside the beach, which is lit up by fire torches, illuminating the seventy odd people who have attended. There is a large photograph of Matthew between two of the torches, which has many bouquets of flowers lying in front of it. Friends gather in groups, mourning the loss of the boy who helped his friend but paid for it with his life. Many now know the truth about their principle, what had truly happened that night and how brave Matthew had been. Amongst them are Jenny, Tom and Jeff, they try not to dwell on the truth, but it is hard to when so many gossip. Callie and Jim watch from afar with the other parents and teachers.

"The poor boy," Callie sighs, "he was so young."

"He did what he thought was right," Jim replies, "his mother had been abused in a similar way."

"So brave."

Mrs Davies makes her way to a podium beside her son's portrait, wiping her eyes with a tissue.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," her voice cuts across the chatter of the crowd.

The murmur of the crowd fizzles out as they all turn towards her.

"I…err…I want to thank all of you for coming here in honour of my son, Matthew. After everything what has happened, it's reassuring to know that he had so many people that cared for him. Moving here was difficult for him, but he couldn't have done it without his friends, Tom, Jenny and Jeff; thank you for helping him settle in and supporting him when he needed it most. I also need to thank the FDLE, without them, the man who killed my son would never have been brought to justice," she looks directly at Jim and smiles.

He nods a brief reply, acknowledging her. Callie slides her arm around Jim's and holds him tightly. Jeff leaves his friends and joins his parents. It has been difficult for him, but he knows that whatever happens, Jim will be there for him. No matter what.

A/N: Thank you for reading! This will be the last one for a while because I am going to be focusing on putting my own original stories on FictionPress. If inspiration strikes, I may write another. Hope everyone is enjoying the 4th series, I'm still waiting for the third to come on television over here.

To the kind reviewer who asked about writing a story together: at the moment, I am a bit busy but I think you should create an account on here and write, the community on FanFiction is amazing and I'm sure that they would be more than happy to help you write your own story. Good luck.

Bye for now peeps! Love CallMeHannah. xx


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